A Lewes celebration attracting visitors from the UK, Canada, Arkansas and Texas.
Trollbeads will be celebrating 40 years of creativity and business during the Trollbeads at the Beach Festival in Lewes, Del. on Oct. 14-16. The three-day event will kick off on Friday at Blooming Boutique upon store opening at 10 a.m.
Michiko Seto, owner of Blooming Boutique, says the Trollbeads trend started years ago at the Lewes business.
“It was my employee who said Michiko you need to look into Trollbeads!” Seto says. “We liked Trollbeads because it was an artisan line and it was easy to get on and off.”
The event has been held twice a year, in the spring and fall, for seven years. Throughout the years, Blooming Boutique has welcomed guests from all over the world, this year welcoming patrons from Canada and East Whales.
Trollbeads will be celebrating 40 years of creativity and business (Photo: Blooming Boutique)
On Friday, guests can shop the Trollbeads catalog line for bead, bracelet and necklace specials, enjoy a light lunch at noon, attend a leather bracelet demonstration at 3 p.m., followed by the Trollbeads 40th birthday party at 5 p.m. During the birthday celebration, attendees can enjoy festive cocktails, appetizers and cake.
Saturday’s festivities will kick off at the Lewes Presbyterian Church at 9 a.m., and will include goody bags with exclusive Trollbeads, access to thousands of unique Trollbeads, glass artist demonstrations and access to limited and retired Trollbeads. A luncheon will be prepared by chef Yoshio Seto and a bead exchange party and artisan bead event will take place at Blooming Boutique at night.
On Sunday, a design class will be held at Blooming Boutique at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., allowing guests to bring their beads to the boutique and work with design experts to create a masterpiece. Surf Bagel will be serving brunch, along with mimosas.
During the event filled weekend, fans will have the opportunity to meet the founder of Trollbeads, Lise Aagaard.
“Being from a family of jewelers, I have had the lifelong privilege of being immersed in a constant learning environment of art, form, and material,” Aagaard says. “Always facing the possibilities and boundaries of innovation from a professional point-of-view. I can honestly say that I am inspired by anything and everything. Diversity ignites my curiosity in life as well as in the worlds of metal, precious stones, pearls, amber, and glass. I am deeply grateful for having had the opportunity to touch people from all over the world through my work.”
Two Trollbeads artists will be attending the event, providing a behind the scenes look (Photo: Blooming Boutique)
In addition to Aagaard, Trollbeads Designer Gail Crosman Moore, Trollbeads Designer Louise Rimpler, Special Guest Kimberly Whalberg and Trollbeads Wholesale Director Nicholas Stefansen will be present at the event.
According to Seto, having so many Trollbeads representatives at one event isn’t normal and the group is extremely lucky to have the privilege.
“This time, out of the blue, we got a call about Lisa coming. It’s going to be crazy, we’ve never had this many people come at one time—it’s not normal.”
Seto says the group always brings in two artists for the event because every artist is different and are able to show different aspects of the beads, which is one of the reasons the shop owner believes so many people come back year after year.
“It’s the camaraderie and seeing them come back and seeing all the different stuff they get to see— this event is top in the country.”
According to Seto, everything is handmade and guests can see what goes into each step of making the beads, from the drawing, making the silver and the final project. Also exclusive to the event is the ‘Blue Waters’ bead and only 500 are being sold.
To learn more about the event, visit www.trollbeadsatthebeach.com.
